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Here comes fun: March break in Toronto

The Toronto sign lit up at night on March 6, 2019. CITYNEWS/Jason MacLennan

This is the moment kids have been waiting for since the start of the year — March break is next week. While some families will be going to a sunny and warm destination, others will be staying in town. For those planning a staycation, below are some events that are sure to make your kids jump up and down — they won’t have the chance to say “I’m bored.”

But before you have all this fun, just a couple of housekeeping things:

Remember to turn your clocks an hour ahead on Sunday with the arrival of Daylight Saving Time, which starts at 2 a.m.

If you are planning to take the TTC to evening events, subway service on Line 1 between Finch and Lawrence stations will end at 11 p.m. each night from Sunday until Wednesday

Activities and events in the GTA

Below are some events taking place across the GTA. The City of Toronto is also offering several activities over March break — click here for more information.

A party for Toronto’s birthday
Kick off your March break by celebrating Toronto’s 185th anniversary. Celebrate Toronto is taking over Nathan Phillips Square this Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The festival will include a local vendor market, warming lounge, food trucks, live music, skating, an on-site photo contest and the official mascot, “Remi the Raccoon.” Celebrate Toronto will also be collecting non-perishable food donations for the Daily Bread Food Bank and 20 per cent of proceeds from branded toque sales will go to the charity. Road closures will also be in effect, click here for a list.

Everyone is Irish on Sunday
A sea of green will be hitting the streets of Toronto this Sunday for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade gets underway at noon, beginning at the corner of Bloor and St. George streets. Parade-goers will head east on Bloor, south on Yonge and west on Queen Street to the pot of gold at Nathan Phillips Square, where they can take part in the festivities for Toronto’s 185th anniversary. Toronto Paramedic Services will be taking part in the parade, collecting donations for the Daily Bread Food Bank.

A picture is worth 1,000 words
Kids and teens are always glued to their smartphones, so perhaps they need a change in scenery. If they love to take photos with their smartphone, maybe a photography class will interest them — especially learning the art of photography by using an actual camera. The photography camps for kids aged 8-13 and teens aged 13-17 will feature an introduction to cameras, learning the basic photography skills, hands-on demonstrations, and inspiring field trips.

Indulge your sweet tooth with maple syrup
Spend your March Break rolling maple taffy on snow and going on wagon rides at various maple syrup festivals across the GTA. Sugar Shack TO is back at Sherbourne common this Saturday and Sunday, offering various ice games, skating, a winter marketplace and obstacle course. The Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival is taking over the Kortright Centre for Conservation from March 9 to April 7. Guests can enjoy demonstrations, wagon rides and of course, pancakes with real maple syrup. Bronte Creek Provincial Park is also putting on its annual Maple Syrup Festival every weekend in March and throughout March break. Festivities include a guided tour of Maple Lane, where interpreters demonstrate different historical ways of collecting and making maple syrup; a Maple Gift Shop; and wagon rides to the Pancake House.

A day at the museum
Take your March break to the next level this year, by exploring the ROM. The museum is offering March break programming for all ages, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily between March 9-17. Some of the events taking place include Museum Secrets, where you will discover secret stories that are stored inside the walls of the ROM; Space Rocks!, where you can check out the only place in the universe where you can touch Mars and the Moon at the same time; and ROM Quests, where you can explore the museum’s Ancient Culture Galleries. All March break programming is included with general admission.

Creative minds at work
Forget playing in the sandbox. The kids of this generation will instead hang out in a “digital sandbox” where they will be inspired to think creatively. The Toronto Kids Digital Festival, presented by Virtute Innovation and Art School, will take place at OCAD University March 12-14. Some of the installations and workshops will feature robotics, interactive holograms, digital paintings, 3D Doodle Pen, and more.

Epic movies at the Cinesphere
“One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.” It is an epic movie that might inspire your kids to read the books. The first installment of The Lord of the Ringstrilogy will be screened at the Ontario Place Cinesphere starting Friday and until Monday. But be prepared to be there for a while, as the extended version is just under four hours. While at the Cinesphere, you may also want to check out another engaging movie that is based on a wildly popular book. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone will be shown on IMAX from Saturday to Monday. Click here for the full March break programming at Ontario Place.

Celebrate the soon-to-arrive spring
Jump into spring this March break, at SpringFestTO at Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place. The event, formerly known as Wizard World, is back for its 17th year. The indoor fun park features over 25 mechanical and inflatable rides, a Bounce Entertainment dance party, birds of prey, a petting zoo, Doo Doo the Clown and four daily children’s shows. There’s also a “little tots” area for kids under five. SpringFestTO runs from March 10-17, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Children under the age of two are free.

Fiery and friendly dragons
Fun and adventure await you at a castle in Toronto over March break. The fictional era of dragons and fairy tales will be brought to life at Casa Loma with interactive live shows and various other activities from arts and crafts to a bouncy castle. Casa Loma will be open until 9 p.m. daily for March break except on March 17.